Between Heaven and Hell
by kirei yuhi
Summary: Fourteen year old Chihiro Ogino stumbles upon the sacred meeting ground between Heaven and Hell where she first encounters the seemingly human Kohaku. Alternate Universe. Paring: HakuChihiro
1. Nighttime Escapes

Standard Disclaimer applies: I do not own Spirited Away.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 1: Nighttime Escapes

The front door of a navy blue house was silently opened as a young girl sneaked out of the Ogino family home and stealthily made her escape. Concealed by the darkness of the night, the girl effortlessly disappeared.

Fourteen year old Chihiro hated sneaking out, but being a teenager gave her an excuse to run off every once in a while.

Well, maybe more than just every once in a while.

What her parents didn't know couldn't hurt them, right?

She could feel the smothering air dissipate more and more the farther she got away from the presence of her overbearing parents.

Ever since she could remember, Chihiro had loved being outside during the night hours. She cherished the freedom the darkness gave her with only the light of the moon and the stars as her guide. Nighttime exploring had recently become a newfound hobby and Chihiro had been taking every chance she could get to carefully explore every nook and cranny of the forest a couple meters away.

She wasn't quite sure what the name of the enchanting place she came to love was, so she simply called the forest her "safe haven". After all, the forest was the place where she felt the safest, protected from the pressures and rules that come along with being a so-called "adolescent."

As she approached the forest, Chihiro took out a long, slender, braided rope from her small knapsack. Quickly approaching the nearest tree, Chihiro tied one end of the rope to a narrow tree and the other end to her wrist. She couldn't afford to get lost and get caught sneaking out now could she? Chihiro just shuddered at the thought.

"I'd be grounded for life," she muttered to no one in particular.

Fueled by her anticipation, Chihiro sped as fast as she could without running into anything. She was determined to find something new before the sun came back up and reminded her that she needed to sneak back into the house. Minutes passed as Chihiro went deeper into the forest. Slowing down to a slow walk, Chihiro noticed the sound of running water.

"Jackpot," she mused.

No longer feeling the anxiety to find something new, Chihiro languidly made her way towards the running water. 'A river,' she concluded. Making her way to the riverbank, she collapsed on the soft grass. Taking a good look around, she was robbed of her breath as she noticed the hauntingly beautiful landscape painted in front of her eyes. When satisfied, she let herself collapse on her back to examine the clear sky.

"I probably have an hour left before I should head back home," Chihiro sighed.

A bit bored and lonely of being by herself, Chihiro entertained herself by singing.

Chihiro knew she didn't have an amazing voice, but she could carry a tune or two.

Too engrossed in admiring the view and remembering the lyrics to one of her favorite songs, Chihiro failed to notice the shadow that timidly made itself towards her.

"So what's a young human girl like you doing here at this hour?" a soft, silky voice whispered.

Chihiro quickly sat up, but fear soon overcame her and her body refused to turn around to meet the voice.

"Oh, don't worry. I won't hurt you," the masculine voice tried to assure her. "Though my words are probably not all that convincing," he added to himself.

Coming back to her senses, Chihiro summoned the courage to take the flashlight out of her front jeans pocket. She flicked the flashlight on and quickly whirled around to get a better view of the intruder.

Her eyes came to rest on a young man with ebony hair and olive green eyes. He held his hands up as a sign of peace and gave her a soft smile, although stunned by the sudden brightness of Chihiro's flashlight. Under her close scrutiny, she came to realize that the boy couldn't be a day older than sixteen.

After deciding that this boy was not a threat, Chihiro realized that she was absolutely smitten with the stranger's boyish smile and couldn't help but stare for a couple more moments.

"See something you like?" the boy teased.

Chihiro voicelessly thanked the darkness for her face must have been a brilliant shade of red when she felt her face burn up. It wasn't everyday that she got caught staring at a devilishly handsome boy.

"Would you mind turning your flashlight off or pointing it in another direction? My eyes are starting to hurt," the boy continued cheerfully.

Hesitantly, Chihiro lowered the said flashlight and turned it off.

"That's much better," the boy thanked her. "So what's your name?"

Chihiro found her voice as she stuttered, "Chi-… Chihiro. Ogino Chihiro."

"Chihiro," the boy tested the name on his tongue. "What a pretty name. It suits you."

"Thank you. And your name is…"

"Kohaku."

"Last name?"

"That's not important." Kohaku's voice had suddenly turned angry, and Chihiro decided that now wasn't a good time to pry.

"Well then. It's nice to meet you Kohaku," Chihiro warily replied.

"Likewise. So I guess I'll ask again. What's a girl like you doing here at this hour?" Kohaku prodded.

"Exploring," she vaguely admitted.

The two teenagers left it at that.

Content to sit and get to know each other, the pair continued to chat amiably. They talked well into the night and Chihiro had lost track of time before she saw the sun break the horizon.

"Oh shit!" she cursed. Chihiro didn't like cursing all that much, but considering the current situation, she felt compelled to do so.

"Is something the matter?" Kohaku asked the frantic girl.

"I'm going to be grounded for life!" Chihiro exclaimed. "I have to go."

Hastily, Chihiro collected her things and began to run back towards her home. She was about to leave when a gentle hand caught her wrist.

"Will I see you again?"

It was a simple question, but somehow, it made Chihiro's heart beat faster.

"I'll try to come back tonight."

Kohaku smiled. "I'll be waiting."

And with that, he gently kissed the back of Chihiro's hand. It was a friendly gesture. Maybe even a romantic one, but Chihiro had no time to think about that now.

"Goodbye!" she called to Kohaku as she turned and started running.

Kohaku waved.

"If she turns around, she's the one," he made a bet with himself.

At the edge of the clearing, Chihiro slowed her pace. Hesitantly, she turned around to make sure that Kohaku had been real and not a figment of her imagination. When she saw his smiling face and the wave of his hand, Chihiro could not help but smile back and wave before taking off once again.

"This should be quite interesting," Kohaku voiced to the air.

The sun continued to move higher into the sky and suddenly Kohaku disappeared, as if he was never there at all.

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Edited 6/11/2009

Just made some minor spelling corrections. Thank you to all that have reviewed the first chapter and enjoy the second!

Awaiting your wonderful reviews,

~Kireiyuhi


	2. I Hate Surprises

Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.

A/n: So after 4 years of not continuing this story, I was finally inspired to keep writing. Thanks to those who have reviewed so far. Hope you enjoy it.

A/n 2: I got annoyed with third person so I changed to first person. Sorry.

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Chapter 2: I Hate Surprises

It was almost 6 a.m. when I made it back to the house. Thank goodness Mother always woke up at precisely 6:30 a.m. I sneaked my way past the master bedroom and flung myself upon my bed and promptly fell asleep. Boy did I love weekends.

I felt a soft push at my shoulder waking me up. Groaning, I turn to meet the face of my mother.

"Wake up, hun. It's almost 10," she said softly.

I groaned again. Little did she know, I had only slept for four hours instead of the actual twelve hours she thought I had.

"C'mon! We can go to the aquarium today since it's raining out."

My eyes flew to the window. As if on cue, a lightning bolt passed and the sound of thunder followed it moments later. It was downright pouring outside.

"Get ready, Chihiro! We'll leave in 30 minutes."

I was lucky. Really I was. I had the loveliest mother who spent a lot of time with me and a father who worked hard to provide for us. But being the typical teenager I was, I needed my space. So while I would spend time with my Mother going on trips to the aquarium, zoo, beach, shopping, and whatever not and talking to my father about anything and everything at the dinner table, I couldn't tell them what I do every weekend night for the past year.

I sighed. I never went out if it was raining. Somehow, I felt that I would be caught easier if I came back all wet. I looked outside the window again and prayed for the rain to stop.

The aquarium was great. Not too crowded and not too empty. I stopped at a tank of dolphins. I put a hand up against the glass. Feeling tired, I rested my forehead on the glass. When I opened my eyes I noticed something in the reflection. A pair of olive eyes. I flipped around and noticed no one was behind me. A tapping on my shoulder broke my thoughts.

"Here's some water, hun" she handed me an unopened bottle of water.

I smiled at my Mother. She smiled a small smile back and took my hand. We walked over to a bench to watch the dolphins some more.

"Chihiro, you know you can tell me anything right?"

The sadness in my Mother's voice broke my heart. Did she know? Did she think I was keeping something from her?

"You know, when I was a teenager, I had a bad habit of running away. I hated my parents. They were always forcing me to do things I didn't want to and never letting me do the things I did want to do."

She laughed and I laughed with her. I never knew about my mom's teenage years. I guess I was more like my mom than I thought.

"It's a boy, isn't it?" she prodded.

I burst out into laughter. Oh if she only knew the half of it. At school, I was the perfect mixture of friendly and loner. Everybody liked me and I wouldn't be bragging if I didn't say I was a little bit popular. I was good at sports, smart, funny, but I kept everyone at a distance. I never hung out with anyone outside of school except for my next door neighbor and best friend Hanako.

Hanako held the eccentric quality that I needed in my life. I remember the day I met her in elementary school. She told me that I would be her bestest friend and that we would be BFF's forever. Even at that age, I was distant, but Hanako pushed like nobody I knew. That very day after school, she appeared at my front door with a trunk full of toys, games, and her favorite Disney Princess movies. We really had been best friends ever since.

My reverie was interrupted by my mom's hand at my shoulder.

"It's okay. I don't mind if you have a boyfriend."

I laughed again, but this time in relief. My secret wasn't out.

"Oh, mom. I really don't have a boyfriend. Even if I did, I don't think I could hide it from you" I answered honestly.

My mom gave me an analyzing stare. When she was satisfied that I wasn't lying, she stood up.

"Let's go home. I have to start dinner. Do you think Dad would like some sukiyaki?" she grinned.

"Of course! That's Dad's favorite food."

We walked back to the car hand in hand. It had stopped raining.

"Thank God," I breathed.

"What was that?" my mom questioned.

"Oh nothing. Just glad it stopped raining." I said truthfully.

"Yeah, I really do hate rain. It really puts a dampener on things, don't you think?

"If you only knew," I whispered to myself.

My mother and I started dinner together when the door busted open.

"Hunnies, I'm home!" my father shouted.

I jumped on him and gave him a big hug.

"How was your business trip, dad?"

"Oh, pumpkin. You won't believe it! I got an amazing job offer in Tokyo!"

I blanched.

"Dad, are you saying we're moving?"

"Of course, hun! I know this is pretty sudden, but it'll only be for a few years. There's a special project that I was asked to supervise and it's a really great opportunity" he stated proudly.

My mother had come into the foyer.

"So I take it that it went well?" she asked.

I was stunned.

"You knew?" I screamed.

"Chihiro, your father has been waiting for an opportunity like this for a long time. Please don't make this any harder than it is."

I didn't hear any of it. I didn't want to hear any of it. I ran to my room, grabbed my knapsack and slipped out the back door.

I ran like hell.

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Yay, Chapter 2 done. I promise I won't wait another 4 years to update the next chapter. In fact, I believe I'll have another chapter out next week, if you guys are good and leave me some of your fantastic reviews. :) Please review!

Just a sidenote, for those of you that don't know what it is, Sukiyaki is kind of like hotpot. Basically it's kind of a family style meal where you just cook things in a big pot and everyone eats from it. I kind of made it a play on words because suki also means to love and yaki means to cook so you can come up with your own interpretation of that.

~Kireiyuhi


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